How a Custom Small Business Mobile App Paid for Itself in 1 Week [Case Study]

Small businesses know that having a custom mobile app is an awesome way to delight and attract customers, but they don’t have an unlimited marketing budget.

They need to know that what they invest in will help grow their business in a tangible and cost-effective way.

One Power Apps that Work customer had the same concern. And what they found was amazing their mobile app not only paid off, it paid for itself 1 week after launch:

Case Study: Recycled Cycles

Recycled Cycles is a Ft. Collins-based bike company owned by Dave Hudson. Dave opened Recycled Cycles in 1978, originally selling only reconditioned and repainted bikes. As the years passed, Dave grew his business; today, Recycled Cycles is a well-respected full-service bicycle and fitness equipment shop. Though business was doing well, Dave was looking for ways to increase his market share and further increase customer loyalty from current customers.

Enter Power Apps that Work.

When Power Apps that Work approached Dave and shared with him how his business could benefit from a custom mobile app, he was a bit skeptical at first.

“We all had some mixed feeling about how it would go for the business”, Dave said. But they were convinced that it was worth a shot, and they went forward with creating a mobile app for their business.

Power Apps that Work wasn’t about to let Dave down: we knew an app would be a definite ROI for his business, so we set out to show him just what we could do.

Our Thinking Behind our App for Recycled Cycles.

We knew that a custom mobile app was a unique opportunity to help Recycled Cycles not only procure new business, but also to make a strong impression on existing customers and to foster a sense of customer loyalty by creating a community around the brand.

We quickly realized that Recycled Cycle’s customers wanted an app that was more than just a simple presence and information about the company: they wanted a comprehensive set of highly-relevant bike-related information readily available at their fingertips.

We knew that if Recycled Cycle’s mobile app could deliver this information, the company would essentially be giving itself two opportunities to get in front of customers: 1.) when the customer wanted information specific to the store, and 2.) when the customer wanted general information related to bicycling.

Here’s what we made for Recycled Cycles:

We knew that a mobile app was an outstanding opportunity for Recycled Cycles to expand its business and delight customers. We carefully integrated customer loyalty, business information and niche-specific information into Recycled Cycle’s app to create a holistic and interesting experience for their customers.

1. Aesthetic design

The work started with a thoughtfully-designed homepage:

The app’s homepage is attractive and reduces clutter while also providing key information to customers.

2. Out-of-app customer engagement

It’s obvious that Recycled Cycles will have the chance to engage with customers when they open up the mobile app. But we wanted the company to have the chance to engage with customers even when they weren’t actually using the app. So we included push notification functionality:

“Push notifications” allow the mobile app to automatically alert users when the business publishes a special or has another message to convey.

Push notifications mean that customers don’t need to have your app open in order to receive notifications from your company: notifications will just pop up on your client’s smartphone, and they can take a look at your mobile app to learn more about your offer. (Of course, it’s never wise to go overboard with push notifications! But they are an effective tool when used in moderation and for important events).

3. Business location & hours information

We knew that customers find it immensely frustrating not being able to find a business’ location and open hours (we’ve all had that experience of going somewhere only to find it was closed!).

So we designed Recycled Cycle’s app in a way that included all key location information in an easy-to-find spot:

Recycled Cycles’ app includes their two location, which makes it easy for customers to figure out which is near them…

…which includes a full page of key location information, such as open hours…

…and a map of the location, including the ability to get directions!

4. Customer loyalty incentive program.

We wanted it to make it easy for Recycled Cycle’s customers to see why they should visit often: we built a customer loyalty incentive program into the mobile app.

5. Inventory and product information.

eCommerce is booming [include statistic], and businesses like Recycled Cycles wanted to work with the eCommerce trend. Furthermore, Recycled Cycles knew that if they could share their inventory information with customers either online or over their mobile app, they could make it more convenient for customers to make purchases. We designed their app so that they could share inventory information with their customers.

Recycled Cycles uses their mobile app to share inventory information with their customers.

6. Value-added niche-related information

We knew that customers who felt like they had been treated well were more likely to reward the business with continued patronage and more purchases. We identified an opportunity for Recycled Cycles to take advantage of this by including biking-related information in their app:

Recycled Cycles uses its app for more than promoting itself; it uses the app to provide useful niche-related information to customers.

This way, app users will have additional reasons to want to use the Recycled Cycles app (not just when they want to buy something!). This gives Recycled Cycles a passive opportunity to increase visibility, and makes customers feel grateful to have useful information at their fingertips.

The Results

Power Apps that Work finished the mobile app and delivered it to Recycled Cycles. Now was the moment that everyone had been waiting for: would the app delight the company’s customers and increase sales?

It only took a week to find out.

“The first week of being live, an older gentleman came walking into the store carrying an iPad”, Dave said. “I noticed he was using our app to browse our inventory!

“He brought the iPad to the counter and showed me the model of the bike that he found…that day, he purchased a bicycle with an assortment of accessories…He called back an hour later and said he was sending his wife in the next day to purchase the women’s version of the bike, accessories included!”

What Dave said next was simply incredible:

“Their combined purchase alone paid the fee for the app for the entire year.”

To Dave, the ROI of his company’s custom mobile app was clear. And Dave learned something interesting from this customer that emphasizes the importance of a web presence for small businesses: “[He talked] about how he uses the internet to shop, and then goes to a local store to make a purchase.”

What Power Apps that Work has done for Recycled Cycles, we can do for you too.

We are super excited that Recycled Cycle’s mobile app paid off so quickly; and we are confident that an app can provide a positive ROI for your business as well.

In the comments below, share with us some of your thoughts about a mobile app for your business. Were you surprised to hear about Recycled Cycle’s results? What concerns do you have?

Have more specific questions? Interested in getting started on an app for your business? Just contact us here.